I've heard people say that it is bad to wax a new car too soon. Why is this? Is it true?

My Versa is black so it's getting kinda dirty already and I've only had it for like 3 days.

Being either excessive about waxing or complacent about it would be the two bad extremes.

I generally wax my cars twice a year, and wash them about every month (except in the winter when it's too damn cold, even then I may use a touchless car wash). Never had a problem with paint coming off my cars except from the usual high-speed rock chips and one jackhole that hit my last car in a parking lot and drove off.

And I'll just say... Meguiars FTW!

Althalus wrote:I've heard people say that it is bad to wax a new car too soon. Why is this? Is it true?

My Versa is black so it's getting kinda dirty already and I've only had it for like 3 days.

It used to be that you couldn't because the paint would not be fully cured before cars were delivered to the dealer. Waxing with buffers would cause swirl marks really easily. That's not true these , you can wax your car as soon as you get it. Cars these days are dried at really high temps before anything get assembeled. Auto makers do this to make sure that the paint is 100% cured by the time of assembly. It's as cured as it's going to get. Ever Victorious has the right idea, you only want to wax around twice a year. Yo don't want to cause excessive wear on the paint You can use sprayon's in between to help keep the shine.

This isn't true for aftermarket jobs. Most are still dried at pretty low temps. Make sure you follow the paint shops directions to a T.

Isn't waxing just adding a layer or "wax"? I thought you are supposed to avoid using "polish" on a car which actually removes a fine layer of clearcloat whereas waxing adds a layer to protect.

Am I wrong? Are there not to key differences between waxing and polishing?

Some forms of polishing will remove a thin layer of whatever is on top. This depends entirely on the form.

this can be beneficial in some cases, like a car where the clearcoat has oxidized. Removing a layer of clear will remove this oxidation... the amount depends on how deep it is. If it's not bad, it could remove it entirely, leaving you able to wax the car and make it shine again.

So when you choose a wax for a new car, make sure it's just a wax and not a cleaner wax or some other similar abrasive. If I remember, I use Meguiars New Car Glaze on my newer vehicles.

And if I really need to make it shine between waxes, I take it to a Brown Bear or similar wash and use a "clear coat protectant" after washing (usually made by Blue Coral).

Oh, and what Proxim said about curing paint is 100% true, though for different reasons. Lacquers that were used up until about 1985 (by GM, most other makers abandoned them in the mid-60's in favor of more durable enamels) could be damaged by polishing/buffing them incorrectly. Ironically, the correction was to polish and buff them.

Enamels can be chipped or worn off if they're improperly cured. Enamels are somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-500 times more weather-resistant than lacquers, and are also not as toxic.

New cars are made with a waterborne (note: not water *based*... I believe they are urethane enamels, which are FAR more durable than their 70's and 80's counterparts) paint that is baked on at the factory. When Hyundai opened their plant in Alabama they ran commercials about their commitment to the US market. These commercials actually showed a good representation of some of the most modern paint application techniques: A robot took a body of a Sonata and made it do flips through a vat of paint, then took it off the line and put it in a baking booth to cure.

I'm actually currently reading a lot on this topic, because my new toy needs a paint job. And I don't want a Maaco special.

That Blue coral clearcoat protectant is really nice, I like how it makes the paint really smooth to the touch. makes me feel like it is actually protecting something.

cireecnop1 wrote:That Blue coral clearcoat protectant is really nice, I like how it makes the paint really smooth to the touch. makes me feel like it is actually protecting something.

They makes pretty good washing soap. That's all I'll use on my vehicles. For wax I use Meguiars Gold Class Clear Coat Wax and in between I use Black Magic Wet Shine Sprayon Detailer. My truck is silver and the combonation of products give it a nice bright shine. It hurts to look at it directly. Plus it makes exterior of your car smell like cheeries for a few days

my versa has about 3000 miles on it and it has never been hand or machine "waxed" it has however had the blue coral treatment from my local "brushless" car wash they also have a feature that puts "rain-x"all over the car. these two products have been applied once a month for 3 months and hand washed and dried by me once a week inbetween treatments and my car looks as good,if not better than the day I drove it off the lot. it really shines and the dirt & bugs don't stick to it. after finding this treatment I will probably never hand wax another car unless it is really oxidized and faded. a new car finish should not need waxing unless you live in a really harsh enviorment.

When a vehicle comes from the ship to truck to us

"I work at a BMW dealership"

its covered in cosmoline, which is a grease substance that protects the vehice from salt water and other abrasives in the air.

when it arrives at the docks its high temp sprayed to remove the cosmoline. now it doesnt' get rid of all of it cause we have to pdi the vehicle wich means take all the plastic off seats remove the foam pieces atached to the doors and also to give the car a complete wax and clean.

funny thing is. the first thing we do is spray the entire car with degreaser. this gets rid of cosmoline, then we run the car through the wash then we apply the first coat of wax after it is clean.

honestly i've found that you can wax your car as often as you like. as long as you don't use abrasive polish waxes and such, or leave the old coats on. every like 2 or 3 coats, wash you car in dawn dish soap. this rids the entire car of wax. then you can claybar or do any type of fixing polishing blah blah. then apply a quality clearcoat wax, maybe two layers. then your set.

how often depends on enviroment su,n is your car outside, and also what your driving in, lots of dirt in a city where there is acid rain and such

Hope this helps a little

Scott

Hi Scott, Welcome to the forum!I see you're in NC.I'm about 4 hrs east of you, near Greenville (East Carolina University).

Sorry this is off-topic, I'm too lazy to look for/use PMs.

Mod: Feel free to delete this.